motorcitytimes.com

It has been hard enough to swallow a Obama-Democratic Party that cares nothing for the poor and middle class seeking jobs and reasonably-priced energy to get one to a job. Its been downright impossible to digest a government-growthulus bill that only stimulated the retention of paper-shuffling bureaucrats and union hacks. Don’t ask my about the hurl on the wall of the ObamaDems’ first two budget deficits of over $1.3 Trillion apiece, that make Bush’s budgets taste like Pepto-Bismol.

But now, after the shouts of “Not no, but Hell no!” from Tea parties, Town Halls, New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts, not only does the Democrat Majority Leader of the Senate considers changing the rules to “reconcile” the end of health care liberty with 50 votes instead of the usual 60, but the Speaker of the House openly considers a proposal from Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) to pass a “rule”  that would “deem” the Senate health care bill passed for delivery to the President to be signed into law, without a vote by the House.

At least the New Deal, Great Society, Fannie Mae, and Rx Drug Bills were enacted with the consent of the governed. Didn’t we throw off a King after a Shot Heard round the World in order to avoid laws “deemed passed” by divine, or non-divine right?

Great post! Be sure to read the rest.

House Democrats not on this list are expected to vote yes. However, some members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who are not mentioned below have threatened to vote no unless the Senate’s immigration-related provisions are changed.

All House Republicans are expected to vote no.

If every member votes and all GOP lawmakers vote no, the maximum amount of Democratic defections to pass a bill is 37, which would lead to a 216-215 tally.

Check the list and see where your Congressman stands.

If President Obama signs an Obamacare bill that was not actually voted on in the House of Representatives, it will unleash a bitter constitutional crisis of the kind I haven’t seen in my 60 year-+ lifetime. There will be years of intense litigation.  Tremendous uncertainty as to whether it is actually law will roil the economy and divide the country.  People will refuse to pay the taxes required in the “statute” on the basis that there is no law.  Regulators will be sued.  Vitriol of the kind not seen since the session crisis of 1861 will take over our politics, sowing even deeper societal divisions than already exist.  At the end of the day, I believe, Obamacare will be declared null and void because it never actually have passed both houses of Congress.

And that’s the best case scenario. The worst case scenario is that the maneuver is somehow approved by the Supreme Court. Then, we will have lost our constitutional republic, because Congress will no longer have to pass bills.  Just pass internal rules.  And liberals who support Obamacare fervently enough to believe this expedient is justified, should understand clearly that sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

Great points on how destructive the Democrats myopic pursuit of Socialized medicine truly is.

David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said Thursday his agency will take a “hard look” at the power it has to set safety standards for automakers. Current authority, acquired in the 1960s and 1970s, may not be enough to oversee the technology used in modern vehicles, he said.

Strickland told a House panel that it is unclear whether the agency can regulate “in a way that allows the auto industry to build and sell safe products that the consumer wants to drive.”

The government may also require automakers to include brake override systems, a fix intended to prevent the type of runaway car incidents that some Toyota drivers have described, Strickland said. It would ensure that a driver stepping on the brakes can slow the vehicle even if the gas pedal is stuck or malfunctioning.

Thursday’s hearing of a panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee was the fourth in Congress related to Toyota’s massive recalls for problems with faulty gas pedals and brake problems. The committee was focused on the transportation safety agency’s oversight of the auto industry, which has been criticized for being too lax on automakers.

Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., said the agency’s response to the Toyota recalls had been sluggish after suffering “years of stagnation in funding.” He said “ineptitude” and lack of money seem more of a problem than insufficient authority.

Supply-siders like myself who believe that only market prices can provide accurate signals of the supply and demand for money are going to be very disappointed. If the Fed supplies more cash than markets want, the inflation rate can go up whether unemployment is high or low. We learned this painfully in the 1970s, when high unemployment was accompanied by high inflation.

Even more troubling, fiscal policies coming out of Washington will reduce the investment demand for money. This is because tax rates on those individuals, families and entrepreneurs who are most likely to save and invest are going up. Rather than extending the Bush marginal-tax-rate cuts on capital gains and other forms of investment, Washington will let that tax relief expire at the end of this year.

On top of this, Obamacare proposes to apply the 2.9 percent Medicare payroll tax on ordinary labor income to capital gains, dividends, interest and profits from passive investments in partnerships and S-corporation small businesses.

Saving and investment are already double-taxed several times over. This includes the inheritance tax, which is slated to rise substantially next year. But taxing successful investors and earners is the exact wrong policy.

More troubling economic news.

Be sure to watch it all.

Portugal’s parliament has approved an austerity budget aimed at cutting its deficit to the level permitted for countries using the euro currency.

The government hopes that by reducing the country’s debt it will also restore investor confidence.

Prime Minister Jose Socrates described the vote as a political victory for the country.

But trade unions have threatened to strike over plans for a public sector wage freeze and pension cuts.

There have been concerns that Portugal could run into the same trouble as Greece, where an enormous budget deficit has unsettled financial markets.

“This is the budget the country needs,” Mr Socrates said after the vote.

The minority socialist government has portrayed this year’s budget – and a medium-term austerity programme yet to be submitted to parliament – as key to restoring Portugal’s credibility with investors.

A glimpse into our Hope and Change fueled future.